Rheinland–Pfalz Rundfahrt

The International Rheinland–Pfalz Rundfahrt was a multi-stage road bicycle race held in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. In the years from 1966 to 2007, it was considered one of the biggest sporting events in Rhineland-Palatinate. No other city was as often the stage destination of the Rheinland–Pfalz Rundfahrt as Bad Marienberg (Westerwald).

Rheinland-Pfalz Rundfahrt
Race details
DateApril–May
RegionRhineland-Palatinate
English nameInternational Rhineland-Palatinate Tour
Local name(s)International Rheinland-Pfalz Rundfahrt (in German)
DisciplineRoad
CompetitionUCI Europe Tour
TypeStage race
Web siterlp.rad-net.de
History
First edition1966 (1966)
Editions42
Final edition2007 (2007)
First winner Ortwin Czarnowksi (GER)
Final winner Gerald Ciolek (GER)
Start of the Rheinland-Pfalz Rundfahrt 2006 in Koblenz

In its early years, it was an amateur race. The edition of 1969 was notable for the domination of Fedor den Hertog, winning nine of the eleven stages, and the overall classification with a large margin.[1] After 2005 it was part of the UCI Europe Tour and part of the new German Championship (TUI Cup). In the past the race took place in September during the Vuelta a España. Starting in 2005, the race, classified in category 2.1 due to the newly introduced UCI ProTour, took place in May during the Giro d'Italia and just before the Tour of Catalonia.

Since 1981, a mountain and a sprint classification have been introduced. In 2007, for the first time a classification for the best young professional was introduced (blue jersey).

Due to the cases of doping in cycling, the Rheinland–Pfalz Rundfahrt was cancelled in 2008. The Minister of the Interior of Rhineland-Palatinate, Karl Peter Bruch, announced that the state would not issue a permit for the race from 2008 and that the police would not be called off. "The current extent of the doping allegations has prompted the state government to suspend the financing of the Rheinland–Pfalz Rundfahrt for the year 2008. We feel compelled to send this clear signal," said Bruch.[2] As a result, it is unlikely that the tour will be held after 2008. Another setback in this respect is the dissolution of the organising association "Internationale Rheinland-Pfalz-Rad-Rundfahrt" on 5 December 2007. The official reason for this step is the resulting cost savings.[3]

Winners

Year Country Rider Team
1966  Germany Ortwin Czarnowski
1967  Germany Martin Gombert
1968  Germany Ortwin Czarnowski
1969  Netherlands Fedor den Hertog
1970  Germany Karl-Heinz Muddemann
1971  Germany Dieter Koslar
1972  Germany Karl-Heinz Küster
1973  Germany Peter Weibel
1974  Netherlands Aard van den Hoek
1975  Norway Thorleif Andersen
1976  Poland Mieczysław Nowicki
1977  Poland Krzysztof Sujka
1978  Netherlands Theo de Rooy
1979  Norway Jostein Wilman
1980  Denmark Thomas Möller
1981  Czechoslovakia Ladislav Ferebauer
1982  Austria Helmut Wechselberger
1983  East Germany Dan Radtke
1984  Czechoslovakia Milan Jurco
1985  East Germany Olaf Ludwig
1986  East Germany Thomas Barth
1987  East Germany Mario Kummer
1988  Germany Christian Henn
1989  Poland Joachim Halupczok
1990  Germany Kai Hundertmarck
1991  Germany Gerd Audehm
1992  Germany Gerd Audehm
1993  Germany Bert Dietz
1994  France Cédric Vasseur
1995  Germany Jörn Reuss
1996  Germany Olaf Ludwig
1997  Latvia Dainis Ozols
1998  United States Lance Armstrong
1999  Belgium Marc Wauters
2000  Belgium Marc Wauters
2001  Netherlands Erik Dekker
2002  Germany Ronny Scholz
2003  Italy Daniele Nardello
2004  Germany Björn Glasner
2005  Germany Michael Rich
2006  Austria Rene Haselbacher
2007  Germany Gerald Ciolek

References

  1. "Fedor is nog steeds een mysterie". BN De Stem (in Dutch). 3 November 2009. Retrieved 14 February 2011.
  2. rad-net.de: Doping-Folgen: Keine Rheinland-Pfalz-Rundfahrt 2008 abgerufen am 3. Juli 2008
  3. rad-net.de: Keine Zukunft in Rheinland-Pfalz: Verein der Rundfahrt löst sich auf abgerufen am 3. Juli 2008
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